I've just returned from Italy where I had the chance to take a look at the parish records for my ancestors, which was quite fun. Now I join the ranks of all of the rest of you who've struggled to interpret the Latin records. The Cole book has been of some use, but I'm hoping that someone here might help with a few questions.

What I can't decipher is the date of birth. I can see "8 in the morning" but not the actual date. From the civil records, I know it's the 13th, but I don't see that here. Also, the civil records show that the parents were married in November of 1874, not April. Any thoughts on the discrepancy? Also, the child's name was actually Domenico Celeste, not Pietro Celeste, so again, would you have any idea why there might be this discrepancy between the civil and parish documents?

I see that the child was baptized on the 14th of July 1876, the date which appears at the top of the record. For the day of the birth, I believe it says that the child was born yesterday at 8 a.m. The date of the parents' marriage given in the record -April 14 1874-is for their church marriage. The marriage date you found in November of 1874 was for the couple's civil marriage.

The typical Italian lineage dates from circa 1600, and for most of us that's reasonably profound. But who wants to be "typical" when you might be able to trace a lineage into the 1500s or even into the Middle Ages? Because success in this field requires practice and perseverance, as well as skills m...

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